China hits Ai Weiwei with $2.3m tax bill

Chinese artist ordered to pay within 15 days or face jail in case he says is part of campaign to crush dissent.

02 Nov 2011 08:53 GMT

The Chinese government has ordered artist Ai Weiwei to pay taxes and fines totalling $2.3 million it says are owed by a company under his control.

Ai, an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist who has become a prominent critic of China's ruling Communist Party, said on Tuesday that he been given 15 days by tax authorities to settle the 15 million yuan bill, or risk going to prison.

The move comes after the 54-year-old spent 81 days in detention earlier this year as part of what Beijing said was an investigation into his financial affairs, drawing condemnation from human rights groups and western governments.Ai said on Tuesday that the tax bill was part of an effort by authorities to "crush" dissenting opinion.

"During the 81 days (in detention) all the police talked about was subversion of state power, so I am very surprised they are avoiding talk about politics, (and now talk) about this tax," Ai said.

"This is a signal that the state can seize anybody who has a different political opinion. They use tax or whatever reason to make them look bad or to crush them."

"It appears that the government is set to destroy him, if not economically then at least by setting up the stage to later arrest him for failing to pay back taxes," said Songlian Wang, research co-ordinator for Chinese Human Rights Defenders.

Ai rose to international prominence when he helped design the Bird's Nest Stadium for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.Earlier this year, Ai was named the "most powerful" artist in the world by ArtReview magazine in the UK, a move that Beijing labelled as more political than artistic.